So how did you fare with the maltitol, Melissa??? I can only handle it if I start out a little at a time and increase it slowly.

I am eating lc (about 50-60 carbs) but not ketosis lc right now. I am wondering if being in ketosis is slowing down my metabolism and therefore making it difficult for me to lose weight. I have read in a couple of places that low calorie diets can slow down the metabolism because the body decides it isn't getting enough nutrition coming in - so it responds by thinking its famine time and slows down the metab. to conserve in case famine continues. Since when in ketosis the body doesn't get glucose and is burning body fat the body may think its famine time (If a person is starving - no food - they would be in ketosis - famine time) - I am guessing that it slows down the metab. in response - especially for someone like me who has been a yo-yo for so many years. So perhaps, getting enough carbs so that I'm not in ketosis but not much higher, and reducing fats a little may be the answer for me. I'm going to try it for a while and see how I do.

Today I ate 2 eggs (w/ cheese - but I am cutting back on the cheese now), 1 slice Ezekiel toast w/ butter and berries w/ half & half for breakfast. Lunch was tuna salad w/ lettuce, cucumber, zucchini, radishes, artichoke hearts and few walnuts. Blue cheese dressing (my recipe - but about 1/2 the fat of the olive oil & vinegar I have been using but not a low fat recipe - uses sour cream, mayo, half & half, blue cheese & seasonings - good!). And 1/2 a small apple. Dinner was 2 cups chicken vegie soup - I thickened it with pureed cauliflower and 1/2 cup heavy cream (to 7 servings). It turned out really good. Also had 4 crackers (total 12 nc) w/ little butter.

I snacked on some almonds and peanuts today but tomorrow I am going to get off them. I really think if I just eat my meals I'll do better.
Karen

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I was actually down a pound or two this morning, so Karen....you may be right about the ketosis thing. After I had a Momentum bar and the chicken fried steak and gravy, I was SURE I would gain-but I didn't. That's happened to me a couple of other times, too. I'd stay completely on plan, not lose, then have a higher than normal carb day and lose. I would just say: "Oh, that's reflecting a loss from yesterday. Now I'm losing! And I've messed it up with eating those extra carbs!" Maybe not. Maybe those few extra carbs are just what I needed. Not sugar, junk carbs, but healthy carbs.

My problem is I NEVER actually count my carbs. I just eat as low as I can, figuring I'll probably eat too much anyway!

Today's menu:
Breakfast:3 egg omelet w/pepperjack cheese and cilantro salsa, 4 bacon. (6 carbs)
A.M. Snack: 1 bacon, l/c yogurt (3 carbs)
Lunch: (on the go) a Momentum bar and a can of Diet tea (3 carbs)
P.M. Snack: none
Dinner:salad w/fajita beef and ranch dressing, 3 large fried mushrooms w/ranch.

I can't begin to tell you the total carb count for Dinner. I know there were some in the mushrooms, and some in the ranch. We ate out, so I'm not sure what was in the ranch. I think it was okay, because I wasn't jonesing for dessert afterward.

I already keep a food journal. It gives me an overview of what I've eaten "so far" at any given point in the day.....so by dinner, I know if I can have a few more carbs, or if I need to have a salad and protein dinner only. I can't really see myself doing the whole Fitday thing. Maybe that's why I'm a Turtle. Although I suspect yo-yo dieting in the past is the real culprit.
(I won't change my siggy to reflect my loss unless I see it 2 days in a row....and TOM's still here, so you never know.)

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Karen, I had no problems at all with the malitol. No upset tummy, no weight gain. Since I'm such a chocolate freak, I'm really happy to have found an alternative that I enjoy. I love the Davinci syrups--except for the chocolate. It was my only disappointment.

Today I tried real chocolate. The 85 percent kind. It's not bad, but it is a little too bitter to enjoy alone so I ate it with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter. Amazingly, it is low in carbs-8 per serving (4 squares), minus 3 fiber for a total of 5 net carbs. I ate 1/2 of a serving. If I hit a stall this week, I won't be surprised. It's not a cheat, but not ideal foods either.

Breakfast: Atkins Shake
Lunch: El Pollo Loco Chicken Caesar Salad
Dinner: Left over pork roast (again) 1/4 head cabbage a bit of sour cream
Dessert: super dark chocolate w/peanut butter
Liquids: 4C green tea; 4C iced tea; 3C diet cream soda
Calories: 1,469
Net Carbs: 29 (51 - 22 fiber)

Maxibee, I really like using my FitDay software. But it's not perfect. Some of the foods don't match up to what I eat. Some items are time consuming to find. And if you don't know the exact ingredients in your meal (like when you eat out) or if you don't weigh or measure your portions, you are still guessing. There are few days when I can safely say that my calories and carbs are correct. Other days I either overestimate or underestimate what I've eaten...but feel that I come close enough to give me a good idea of when I can have more or when I need to call it quits.

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Melissa

Howdy all. I finally have access to the site with my mom's puter. I'm still in St. Louis. Anyhoo, friday, DD and I stopped at Arby's on the way down and I got a BLT LC wrap, for dinner at my mom's we had pork roast, green beans, mixed veggies (cauli and broc) and scalloped potatoes. I had a smidge of the potatoes, but had seconds on the veggies. Saturday I made the "Porridge" and then for late lunch we had pizza. The crusts were paper thin, so I ate the crust on a few pieces. Then at the graduation party, I had shrimp, raw veggies, MY LC cheesecakes that I brought, some wine and ONE teeeeeeeny little brownie bite that my grand-niece insisted I eat. So overall, not to bad.

I haven't stepped on the scale all weekend, so I have NO idea what's up with that.

I do find that when I UP my carbs then LOWER them, that seems to keep my body guessing. But I haven't really found anything that will consistantly make me lose weight. The Green Tea has helped, but it's not an exact science.

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Hi Turtles

I missed you!!
After a week of 15g net carbs eating per day I have some responses to myself!
When I start OWL with 25gnet carbs/day I was 208.3 pds. I ate 25g carbs during ONE MONTH and after some ups and downs I could accomplished a 0.8 pds loss. It was very discouragind and I try to reduce the carb intake again.
When I was back from X'mas I?m back to 20g/day again and I lost 4.8 pds in two weeks.
During the last week I ate 15g/day and I lost 1.3 pds.
So I concluded that 25g/day is a little high to me and I will feel more confortable (and motivated) with 20g/day. I?ll eat more acceptable veggies and I?ll control my portions size to obtain only 20g of net carbs and 1200-1400 cals.
Let's see what happens next weeks.

Another thing, this week is my 20th week on atkins and I reached my 30pds mark!!! I?m sooooooooooo happy!

I wish to thank you turtles to support me. This is very important and helps me a lot!

I found a site that have an amazing tool. Its a Nutrient Search Tool and it helps me to find some potassium reach food.Take a look --> http://www.nutritiondata.com/index.html. This side have a Pantry that permits to add entire recipes and make a carb count with specific portions sizes. Its very helpfull.

BIG HUGS
Ju

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Hi, Julianna! It sounds like you've found what works for you and you're doing great! We're still here, turtling along! I have a personal goal of losing 5 pounds per month. I was doing great, going from 228 to 224.....until TOM showed up with the usual baggage. Then, it was back to 228 again! :( I refused to change my signature back to 228....I was just sure I would be back at 226 again soon. I was a shaky 226-227 yesterday, and a solid 226 today. But, I never can tell which way my weight's gonna go from one day to the next.
I make an apple crisp thing last night and had a bit before bed. I made it with almond meal, Splenda, a few walnuts and cinnamon, mixed with butter and crumbled over apple slices. I baked it until the crust browned and the apples weren't too done.
My menu today wasn't too bad:
Breakfast: an omelet with sausage, cheese, and salsa....and of course, green tea.
Morning snack: some apple crisp
Lunch: salad w/chicken, bacon, cheese, and Ranch. Yum!
Afternoon Snack: more apple crisp
Dinner: wasn't really hungry. Had a little "cup" of S/F pudding.

I've done pretty good with the water and green tea. I didn't exercise all weekend, unless you count running around and lots of housework! I missed my supplements last night. I've got to fill my "pill-minder" box and be sure to take them tonight.

I got plenty of sleep this weekend, so maybe that will help me. At 226, I need to lose 3 more pounds by the end of the month to meet my goal. TOM is almost gone, so that should help.
How's everyone else doing? I hope you all have a great week!

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Breakfast: Atkins Shake
Lunch: pecans and 2 oz cheese
Dinner: Carl's Jr. Charbroiled chicken salad w/2 pkgs of dressing
Dessert: Atkins Shake
Liquids: 2C green tea; 3C iced tea; 1.5C diet cream soda
Supplements: Nope...at dinner out and didn't take them ... again.
Calories: 1,630
Net Carbs: 18 (32 - 14 fiber)

I ordered a fast-food salad to take to a church dinner. They threw in two bags of dressing, and I used them both. I checked the calorie count on the site so I could add it to my FitDay and was shocked. Two servings of bleu cheese dressing is 640 calories! I knew it was going to be high...but it's not until you see the total number that you realized how high. It was good, but it sure didn't taste like an 840 calorie meal.

I guess it could have been worse. I could have eaten the ham, potatoes, roll, lemonade and chocolate cake at the church.

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Melissa

You know, this is really interesting. I mean about upping or lowering the carbs for effect. Juliana lowered her carbs and started losing again - happy for your Ju. But I have read a number of posts that say the opposite - stuck in a stall - tried everything including lowering carbs and nothing worked until they upped their carbs 5 or 10 per day. Then the stall broke. Now that fits with what Barb said about her porrage (which is probably about 20 carbs (2 tbsp barley dry is 10 nc; 2 tbsp oats dry is 6 nc, unsure of groats). [These are slow to turn to glucose in the blood so they are a good choice, especially the barley - very low on glycemic index for a grain.] I think it will vary with each individual but perhaps for some upping the carbs a little and controlling fats a little will help. I think I said earlier that I switched my oil & vinegar salad dressing to home made blue cheese - about 1/2 the fat. I still feel satisfied after eating but I'm getting 10-15 gms fat instead of 26-39 gms. This comforts me a little since my carbs are around 50ish right now. I plan to wait a while to weigh myself to see how I'm doing. If I weigh too often I just get discouraged.

Today I had 2 poached eggs, 1 slice Ezekiel toast (its sprouted grain bread - 12 nc) and berries w/ half & half for breakfast.
Lunch was 1-1/2 cups chicken vegies soup w/ some barley in it and 1/2 orange. Dinner was roasted chicken w/ some skin (but less than I usually eat), salad w/ my blue cheese dressing, 1/2 small tomato, <2 oz acorn squash and 5 almonds. (Didn't quite get off the nuts but only ate the 5) So I figure about 52 ncarbs today. I did well not snacking and it wasn't hard until dinner was running late, but I managed.

I walked a mile just before lunch and actually lost my hunger for a little while.
Karen

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I suppose I fit in the turtle section. For over a month, the scale has not budged. I wish i could blame it on weight training, but i have not done that steadily.....
I haven't gained...that is a good thing...but darn, if this isn't discouraging.
I cut coffee out, drink one diet soda a day with low sodium. Breakfast is usually an egg and some greens
lunch is tuna salad
dinner is usually chicken breast with cheese and spinach
i avoid snacks as i am rarely hungry for them....
so i am approaching my turtle days

Lady - It looks to me like you may be eating too little. I went through a period like that last year. Too low carbs/calories will put your body into starvation mode and it will not let go of anything. Your menu looks like you are not getting enough of carbs and calories/fat.

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Mary Kay
2009 - 223
Valentines day goal - 214

It's tough to eat more when you don't have the room in your tummy or the appetite! I will try to cram in more greens I guess.....maybe find a dessert to have once a day.....

Ladybug, I agree w/ MaryKay. How about adding in 1 slice whole grain bread, better yet - berries for your dessert. Are you counting net carbs? Are you even getting 20? My 2 cents: you might aim for at least 25, maybe 30 net carbs a day. Our bodies are all different but it might break your stall.

Just a note for turtles: I have read in several places and again heard it on tv the other day - soy and soy products slow down the thyroid. They are good for people with hyperactive thyriods (who can't keep enough weight on) but not for people with slow metabolisms.

Well, I weighed myself today even though I said I wouldn't. I got concerned that adding in the carbs might have made me gain weight and didn't want to continue on at this level if that was the case. I started the increased carbs on Wednesday and snacked (too much some days) through Saturday. Sunday was my first day not snacking. So I weighed and to my relieve I didn't gain anything. So this week I'll see how I do with about 50 net carbs a day and my exercising. On another thread about setting small goals (very good for us on this thread to consider) I decided my weight loss goal for the moment will be to get out of the 20s. Thats five pounds (very small goal).

Today I ate same breakfast as yesterday. Lunch was chicken breast in salad w/ lettuce, cucumber, radishes, zucchini, artichoke hearts, few nuts & seeds, blue cheese dressing and 3 crackers (9nc) w/ little butter. Dinner was pork chop w/ bok choy, left over cauliflower & about 3 oz acorn squash and 5 almonds. The pork chop turned out to be pretty small and I didn't feel satisfied so I had 1/2 cup of my chicken soup for extra protein. About 48 nc.
Karen

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Karen, I've heard others talk about soy and thyroid issues before. As far as I know, I don't eat any soy products, but I did buy a couple cans of black soy beans today. (I've been dying for a pot of chile and I thought I'd give them a try.)

I guess I need to do a little research on soy and thyroid, too. I had half my thyroid removed seven or eight years ago. Now, I'm on synthroid, which I take almost daily. (I should take it every day but I sometimes forget.)

Breakfast: 3 pieces of bacon and 1 piece of pork rind
Lunch: 1 oz. cheese, 1/4C pecans, 1 square 85 percent chocolate, 1.5 tsp. peanut butter.
Dinner: Fajita salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, avocado, seasoned meat strips -- no dressing)
Dessert: will have 1/2C raspberries w/cream and maybe 1/4C pecans
Liquids: 4C green tea; 1.5C iced tea; 1C water
Calories: 1,192
Net Carbs: 26 (51 - 25 fiber)
Supplements: Yes

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Melissa

Stayed on plan, drank 3/4 gallon of water, all my green tea, took supplements, no exercise. Met with Dr.Phil group. I have to exercise every day or I'm not allowed to weigh the next day. This is my accountability and my incentive to exercise. I'd better get moving! I "have to" weigh every day.

Take care, everyone. I'll post more when I have more time. Trying to get that sleep, ya know!

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Hi Turtles, it's nice to be back home and on my faster puter. Talk about turtles, my mom's puter is the slowest thing on earth.

Ju, that's a REALLY interesting site. I bookmarked it as a favorite. I just hope I remember to use it!!!! LOL

Just trying to get myself back to normal here.

I need to buckle down and start writing my intake down on paper. BUT, that takes a bit of organization. Someday...........

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